Update – The Potala - Lhasa, Tibet

We just spend four days in Lhasa, besides white water rafting, we spent most of the time visiting Buddhist Monasteries around the city. The monastery pictured is of the Dali Lamas' previous home, The Potala.

On Saturday, we head northeast in to China, heading towards Beijing. We'll be traveling over the Tibetan Plateau where we will be "rough" camping (i.e. no showers or toilets) for five consecutive nights. If the current weather conditions are any indication of the future weather conditions, we could be in for a cold and rainy camping experience. Well at least the scenery should be stunning; great plains as far as the eye can see, with snowy peaks raising in the distance. After which the landscape softens to rolling green pastures, where herds of sheep and yak graze among the nomad yurts.

Also, note I can not view my blogsite while in China. I don't know why. I'm able to upload pictures and text, but I'm not able to view the actually site. Hopefully, the text matches the picture. Also, if I haven't responded to comments it's because I'm not able. I'm not sure when I'll be able to view the actual site again.

I’ve also added some additional entries to the toilet diary. Click on November on the lower right hand side of this page and scroll down to see the new entries.

Whitewater Rafting - Lhasa, Tibet

I don't have any pictures of the actual rafting. We where told the camera could get wet and damaged. Nevertheless, it was a blast. The water speed was really fast due to the rains.

Produce Market - Lhasa, Tibet

The markets are always a fascinating place to visit regardless of the country. The Asian markets are especially exotic and always worth a visit.

Meat Market - Lhasa, Tibet

Main Street, Lhasa, Tibet

"Turquoise" Lake , Lhasa, Tibet

"Turquoise" Lake , Lhasa, Tibet

Chapel of Jampa, Shigatse, Tibet

An entire building is hollowed out to house the world's largest guided statue - a 26 meter image of Jampa (Maitreya), the Future Buddha. It was made in 1914 under the auspices of the ninth Panchen Lama and took 900 artisan and laborers four years to complete.

In the Middle East we mostly visited Muslim mosques, along with some Christian churches. While in India, we visited Hindu, Jain, Zoroaster, Buddhist and Sikh places of worship. In Tibet, as you might have guessed, Buddhist monasteries are most prominent places to visit. I don't know a lot about Buddhism, but I purchased a book on Buddhism, hopefully it will enlighten me a little.

Prayer Wheels – Shigatse, Tibet

Eva spinning the prayer wheels around the Tashilhunpo Monastery Kora (a type of religion pilgrimage of Buddhist). The prayer wheels circled a significant portion of the monastery and took about an hour to walk around and spin all of them. Eva and I spun every single wheel.

Mt. Everest at Sunrise, Tibet

Mt. Everest illuminated by the purple-pink early morning sunrise light. We were very lucky to view Everest without cloud cover, particularly during this time of year.

Me and Mt. Everest, Tibet

I would include viewing Mt. Everest as one of my "top" four sites on this trip so far. The others, in no particular order, would be: 1) the Pyramids in Egypt, 2) Baalbek, the Roman Ruins, in Lebanon, and 3) Taj Mahal in India. Close seconds are: 1) Petra in Jordon, 2) Abu Simbel in Egypt, 3) the White Desert in Egypt and 4) the city tour in Mumbai, India. My top six favorite activities during the trip so far have been: 1) scuba diving in the Red Sea (by far the best), 2) balloon ride in Cappadocia, Turkey, 3) playing with the elephants in Chitwan, Nepal 4) white-water rafting in Lhasa, Tibet, 5) camel safari in Bikaner, India), and 6) climbing Mt. Sinai in Egypt. I'll update these when the trip is over.

Mt. Everest at Sunset, Tibet

The clouds kept shifting as the sun was setting. Watching the sunset on Mt. Everest, the highest place on earth, made me ponder that just two months we were swimming in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Ummm, yup, so what, right!! Oh well, next.

Base Camp, Mt. Everest, Tibet

Transport to Base Camp, Mt. Everest, Tibet

Lunch Time - Old Tingri, Tibet

Rape Oil Seed Field, Tibet

Interior of Overland Truck - Nyalan, Tibet

It was only a couple of weeks ago, in India, we were in scorching hot weather, now, in Tibet, it's the complete opposite, winter jackets, thermals underwear, gloves and hats.

New Group Members – Nyalan, Tibet

A new group joined us in Katmandu (pictured). The total group now is comprised of 20 group members, three of which are leaders/drivers (not pictured).

A Landside between Zhangse and Nyalan, Tibet

We had to wait an extra day in Zhangse, for this landslide to be cleared in order for the truck to pass. The monsoon rains have hit northern Nepal and Southern Tibet as of early July.